Third Time's The Charm
by NinjAngel
Summary: Klavier is determined to follow the path that led to his brother's downfall, so he goes through his brother's old cases. What he finds will bring back memories long-forgotten. Full summary inside. No pairings. Rated for blood and language. Genres are iffy


So...I fail at life. But that's all good. XD I know I haven't updated anything at _all_ (I'm talking DNAngel here...) but life in college is a bitch. Especially when they give you more homework than you could ever feasibly handle. But, as for the aforementioned DNAngel fic that I will not name...I guess I've sort of fallen out of that pairing? . So I probably won't update for a while, unfortunately. But this idea...I like this idea. And I love Ace Attorney. And I've been on an Ace Attorney high since January, and it's only increased since I played Investigations, and I have crazy headcanon that should totally be put on paper (well, the Internet, because that's better than paper), and this WILL get done. _

As for pairings...none. That's all you need to know for now. :D I mean, it might be obvious where this story is going just from the facts you can gather, but I don't want to spoil that. Oh, also, I think this is actually pretty short for a chapter, as it is just setting everything up, so the following chapters will probably be a bit (if not _much_) longer.

Summary: Klavier is determined to follow the path that led to his brother's downfall, and he does so by going through his brother's old cases. What he finds in these long-forgotten cases is not only the path that led to his brother's ultimate downfall, but also precious memories that have remained in the back of his mind for over a decade, and a promise he is now resolved to keep.

Disclaimer: _Ace Attorney_ does not belong to me. If it did, GS5 would have been out for two years by now.

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When Klavier Gavin walked into his home office, he closed the door behind him, leaned his back against the door, and stared at the two moderately-sized cardboard boxes sitting on the floor next to his desk. It was the first set of many that would make their way into his hands. He had been avoiding his office all day because he knew that he would have to come back to _those_. He even convinced himself to go investigate with the detectives on the case he was working on. Ema knew better, though, and kicked him out. He then tried to go get some work done at the studio--he was a producer now, and he enjoyed it quite a bit--but his mind kept wandering. So he finally decided to return home. He sighed in defeat and sauntered uneasily towards, as they would look to anyone who wasn't Klavier, the seemingly inconspicuous packages.

_I better get this over with, ja? There's no reason to keep this hanging over my head…_

He grabbed a pair of scissors, a notebook, and a pen from his desk before he sat in the floor and began to rip open the strangely-intimidating boxes. It's not like what was inside them was _harmful_. Just…a bit hurtful.

Within these boxes, as Klavier well knew, were Kristoph's old case files and personal journals. He took it upon himself to scrutinize every case that his brother had ever worked on up until the case that caused Phoenix's disbarment (he got those particular files from Phoenix, seeing as they had been transferred over to him), and he would probably look through the cases following it, as well. But he had also requested that the police find Kristoph's personal journals and place them with the case files. Klavier knew that Kristoph was very meticulous with his record keeping, and the journal entries would more than likely provide a personal context for each case he worked.

He _had_ to know what drove his brother to do what he did, and this was the best way to find out.

Upon looking inside the box, he understood why he felt so intimidated by them. Stacks of papers, folders, and journals were crammed into the box, and he would have to go through every single one. But there was no way he was going to be able to do this alone--not if a single box somehow managed to contain _this_ many files. But Klavier was at a loss at who he could call to help me. Most of the people he would trust with this kind of work didn't really know Kristoph very well. And even if they did, they may have not worked on cases with...

Wait.

Klavier pulled out his phone and dialed the first number in his contacts list.

"...Hello, Apollo Justice here."

"Ah, Herr Forehead. I'm glad I could get a hold of you." He grinned as he heard Apollo's grimace through the phone.

"Could you...could you stop calling me that? Please?" He sighed. "Anyway, what do you need?"

"You aren't too busy this weekend, are you? I need some help with something. If you could make it here tonight, I would be even more grateful."

"At the moment, I'm not busy at all. What do you need?" Klavier could hear the hesitancy in his voice. He only laughed.

"It's nothing to difficult. You can do simple paperwork, ja?"

"I'm not your slave, Prosecu-"

"Ah, now, must you really continue with the formalities? Call me Klavier."

"Fine. But only if you stop using that ridiculous nickname."

Klavier laughed again. "Yes, of course, _Apollo_. Could you come help me? _Please?_"

Through the phone, Klavier could hear the sound of barely-concealed laughter. "Are you _begging me_, Klavier? What could possibly be that bad?"

This time, Klavier was the one who hesitated. "Well...let me preface this by saying that I understand if you wouldn't want to, you're just the only one I could trust with it."

"Um...okay. But you've got my interest piqued. What is it?"

"I have Kristoph's case files and personal journals. I need to go through them."

Silence.

"You want to try and trace the path, don't you? Figure out...why he did it? Why he did _everything_?"

"Yes."

"...I think I can help you. Even more than you think, actually. I'll be over as soon as I can, bu-"

Klavier sighed in relief. "Thank you, Apollo. You have no idea how much this means to me. There's no way I'm going to be able to go through all of this by myse-"

"BUT. There was a 'but.' You missed that. I won't be over for at least half an hour. I'm taking care of Trucy--she's sick. I won't be over until Mr. Wright gets back, and that isn't for another half-hour. But I swear I'll be over as soon as I can." Apollo hung up the phone. Klavier really couldn't blame him--they were practically siblings--but that still meant he might have to get started alone. Where would he start?

Klavier sighed in resignation and pulled out the journal on top. He immediately recognized it as one of his brother's personal journal, though it was definitely one of the older ones. He really wasn't in the mood to get to serious work just yet, so he flipped to a random passage and began to read.

_September 8, 2014_

_ I have not been in this house for a week and already something peculiar has happened. It is Klavier's second day with me—he is helping me finish the unpacking and organizing—and he informed me that there was a small boy lying unconscious in the alley behind the house. He was bleeding profusely from his right arm, and he already looked pale. I instructed Klavier to get the guest room ready for the poor boy, and I carried him inside. We managed to stop the bleeding and wrap his wound. It'll have to do for now. He's asleep now, albeit fitfully. I hope he'll be alright. He's too young for something so dreadful to happen to him. It hurt seeing someone even younger than Klavier in such a position. When he wakes up, I'll have to get his name. His living situation, as well. I have a feeling that taking him to the hospital wouldn't be wise._

As Klavier's eyes moved down the page, his expression changed from one of curiosity to one of remembrance, and finally to one of worry. He couldn't believe he had forgotten that day. And that poor boy…what had happened to him? Where was he now? If he was involved in such an accident at such a young age, what on earth could he have gotten himself involved in when he was in his teens?

Did he even make it that far?

Klavier knew there was _no way_ he was about to go through these other files after reading _that _journal entry. So he kept reading. And as he did, he remembered.

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Comments and Constructive Criticism are always welcome. I really want to know how I could improve and what you like about my way of writing. Reviews are love~ ^_^


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